Julie's Blog....High Heels and Lipstick to Asics and Sunscreen.
I was a high school track sprinter who never ever in a million years thought that I could run long distances! I became a half marathon junkie and just ran my first full marathon in October of 2010! Will I become a marathon addict? Only time will tell. Always believe!

Sunday, May 22, 2011

The Old Glory Run 5K Race Report!

On Saturday morning I drove to Cold Spring, Minnesota to run in my second 5K of the season. The city of Cold Spring is where I graduated from high school so it holds a special place in my heart. I registered to run in a wonderful race called the Old Glory Run. It is a race where all of the proceedes go the help local veterans who served to protect our country. It is a great cause and I was happy to run.

If you look at this picture above you can see it was raining. The weather was not the best but it did not hinder the outcome of runners and support for this great cause. I was standing under the coffee tent when I took this picture. It was all good because I was able to people watch and chit chat with other runners wanting coffee:)

After a few minutes of waiting under the tent I noticed my very good friend Jean! Jean and I ran track together in high school. We actually ran on several of the same relay teams. It was so nice to see her and catch up. I love this picture!

The race started at 11 AM and a few minutes before we all headed to the start line. This picture shows my view of the people behind me. When I was waiting in line I noticed several of my St. Cloud River Runner peeps who were also running. This run was my first 5K ever two years ago. I remember how nervous I was not knowing how it would go or how I would do. That first 5K was a tough one. It was challenging for sure....big time sucking air and heart rate explosions....not good:) It was kind of weird because I was not nervous for this run and that never happens. I felt calm and at peace with myself. In a few minutes we were off and the race started. I was just running on how I felt. I didn't feel like I started off too fast. My breathing and heart rate felt fine. There were several huge puddles to dodge along the route. After getting my feet wet going through the second huge puddle I just didn't care anymore. Oh what the hell! LOL! My feet were totally soaked:) Oh well, it was just a quick 5K and I would live. Mile one went by and my Garmin read 7:20 and all was good. The course went through the city of Cold Spring. There were a few little hills and several turns. Mile two went by and I didn't look at my garmin. I just kept running trying to keep a steady pace. In my mind I didn't think that I was running any faster than last week. Actually I was expecting around the same time or slower than last week because of the rain and puddles. Along the race route I heard a few people yell, "Go Julie!" I found this interesting...out of all of the people running who and the hell is going to recognize me? Thanks for the cheers Sue and Brian!! I continued on the last mile remembering that the home stretch is a long street leading down to the baseball field finish. I looked at the road I was running on and knew I only had a little more to go before this last stretch. I was feeling okay and picked it up a bit. I took the left hand turn that led me down to the finish. I ran the same pace that last stretch and could see the finish. Eventually I could see the clock....holy cow....23:25 and a little left to go! I picked it up and finally crossed the finish. I am pretty sure I was smiling:)

After catching my breath and grabbing a water I bumped into a few of my running group peeps. From left to right we have Lyndon, Dave, me and Curt.

A little later I ran into one of my very best friends from high school. Clare ran her first 5K and did awesome! She walked part of it and still had a great time. I was able to chat with a few more people that I graduated with before checking for my results. I walked over to the results board and was shocked to see that my final time was 23:31 and it was enough to give me third place for my age group again!!

After the awards cremony I got one more picture of Curt and his son Kyle. They both also had age group wins. It was a good day and a little rain never hurts:) It gives us character and makes us stronger. I will take a little rain over hot and humid any day!

My final stats are.....final time 23:31

I placed 85 out of 1017.

I placed 16 out of 660 women.

I placed 3 out of 114 for my age group.Happy running, biking, swimming, lifting and surfing! Cheers to you all!

It sounds like an awesome race, and it's so great that you got to catch up with some high school friends at it! Congrats on placing again! You are rackin' up the bling, chica! I'm hoping to do a couple of 5ks at the end of June/beginning of July. Any in southern Minnesota that you would recommend?

Well done Julie, that's a great run! it's about the time i'm aiming for for 5k in a couple of weeks. I keep getting injuries and niggles though which hold me back. Look forward to reading more posts! Great blog :)

My name is Gena and I work for a tri store online. I happened upon your blog and enjoyed reading about your active life! Congrats the on age group placing! Anyway, I am contacting you to see if you are interested in a simple sponsorship. Please let me know at sponsorships@onetri.com. I just wanted to note that you have been selected as you met our specific guidelines. If you are interested just send me a quick note and I’ll send you more details about the potential sponsorship.

Did your official time/distance match-up with your Garmin? Everytime I run the Old Glory, I always feel like the course is a bit shorter than a 5k, hence a faster than normal time for me. Just curious if anyone else has ever noticed it.

About Me

Facts about me

I am a busy wife and mother of three. I started running for health reasons and to get in shape for my class reunion. I guess it was more like jogging/walking and then sort of running:) I eventually trained and conditioned my body to handle three to four mile runs daily. My first 5K was in 05-09! I was hooked and that was the start of a string of 5ks, 10ks, two ten mile races, several halfs and a 20 miler! In the fall of 2010 I ran in the Twin Cities Marathon! I had the time of my life finishing in 4:09! My new marathon goal is to finish sub 4!